Multi-section upward acting door



H. H. OLSEN ET AL 2,886,102

I MULTL-SE-CTION UPWARD ACTING DOOR May 12, 1959 s Sheets-Shee t 1 FiledMarch 51, 1955 y 12, 1959 H. H. OLSEN ET AL 2,886,102

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2,886,102 a t a t. MULTI-SECTION UlWARD ACTING noon Henry H. Olsen,Detroit, and David C. Crawford, Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., assignors toCrawford Door Company, Detroit, a corporation of Michigan ApplicationMarch 31, 1955, SerialNo. 498,134 I 7 Claims. (Cl. 160-235) Thisinvention relates toarticulated door constructions and particularlydeals with a multi-panel upward acting door construction having thepanels connected by a continuous beam type hinge which carries plugs atits ends to directly receive the axles or shafts of track mounted doorsupporting rollers.

While the invention will hereinafter be specifically described asembodied in a five-section or panel type upward acting garage door,counterbalanced by a spring and cable mechanism, it should be understoodthat the principles of this invention are generally applicable to hingesand closure supports and, therefore, the invention is not to beinterpreted as limited tothe hereinafter specifically describedembodiment.

According to this invention, a plurality of plywood or other materialpanels are hingedly connected in superimposed relation by an inexpensivehinge construction which serves a quadruple function of articulatelyconnecting the panels, providing a beam to prevent sagging of thepanels, sealing the joints between the panels, and providing a rollermounting. The hinges are composed of two continuous metal strips whichare easily bent from flat steel strip stock. One of the strips,providing the male half of the hinge, has the majorportion of its widthsecured flat against the innerface of the panel with a projecting margindepending beyond the bottom edge of the panel and with an inwardly andupwardly turned flange on the end of the depending margin. This flangeprovides a wide mouthed hook. The second strip, constituting the femalehalf of the hinge, has a flat intermediate \i'eb portion secured to theinner face of the next adjacent panel in spaced relation beneath the topedge of the panel. The upper edge of this female hinge part is bent intoa V-shape with a bottom leg extending inwardly and upwardly from the weband a top leg extending upwardly and outwardly from the bottom leg. Thetop leg is shorter than the bottom leg to terminate inwardly from thefirst strip so that the hook of the male member can easily be receivedin the V-groove ofthe female member. The bottom of the web merges into abeam section with an elongated leg at right angles to the web whichextends inwardly from the door panel a suflicient distance to provide arigid web. The end of this leg is bent downwardly and inwardly to form a6..

The provides a fragmental cylindrical recess. The opposite ends of thebeam portion of the strip receive plugs with apertures providingselective mountings for the shafts or axles of the rollers. The rollersare mounted in conventional tracks for upwardly acting doors.

The plugs. can be composed of wood, metal or plastic material. The holesin the plugs are arranged so that therollers will be carried tocorrectly position the door and create a tight fit against the side doorjambs when the door is in closed position. The series of holes in theplugs are eccentrically arranged relative to the sides of the plug sothat reverse mounting of the plug in the increase the available numberof positions for beam will 2,886,102 Patented May 12, 1959 vide panelrigidifying beams and roller mountings for the door.

Another object of this invention is to provide an inex pensive closurecomposed of plain plywood mother inexpensive sheet material which isnormally not strong enough or rigid enough to form a door panel whereinthe desired strength and rigidity is imparted by a continuous hingebeam.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a hinge forclosures which simultaneously :rigidifies the closures against saggingand provides a mounting for the closures. i

A specific object of this invention is to provide an upward actingmulti-panel garage door having less parts than has heretofore beennecessary and utilizing inexpensive material for the panels.

A still further specific object of this invention is to, provide acontinuous hinge for the panels of upward acting garage type doors whichwill reinforce the panels against sagging, form a seal between thepanels, and provide roller mountings for the door rollersl Anotherobject of this invention is to provide a combination hinge and closurereinforcing beam.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a roller mountingfor upward acting .doors which has a plurality of preformedrollersupports adapted to be.

selectively positioned to provide a large number of available positionsto mount the roller.

Other and further objects of this invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from the following detailed description of theaccompanying sheets of drawings which, by Way of example only,illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention. t

On the drawings a Figure 1 is a perspective view of the inside of theupward acting door construction of this invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of portions of the top three panels ofthe door of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an end edge elevational view of the por-i tions of twopanels of Figure 2 and illustrating the panels in inclined relationtodemonstrate the operation of the hinge.

Figure 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the male hinge part. i

Figure 5 is a transverse cross-sectional view offthe female hinge part.a t

Figure 6 is a plan view of the roller mounting plug. Figure 7 is an endelevational view of the plug.

As shown on the drawings:

The door 10 of Figure l is illustrated as closing the door opening of abuilding or garage having side door jambs 11, a floor 12, and a toplintel 13.. A pair of 1 conventional roller carrying tracks 14 supportthe door in the illustrated vertical closed position and an overhead 1horizontal position. These tracks 14 have vertical leg portions 14asecured to the side door jambs 11 and hori-J. zontal overhead legs 14bextending into the building 1 inwardly from the door jambs at a levelabove the lintel 13. The vertical legs are connected with horizontallegs by arcuate track sections 140. Mounting brackets 15 connected tothe door janibs 11 are provided adjacent the arcuate sections and alsocarry pulleys 16 around which are trained cables 17. The cables are alsotrained around pulleys 18 on the ends of counterbalancing springs 19which lie adjacent the horizontal track legs 14b and h are anchored attheir ends to track hangers or the like 20. An end of each cable 17 isattached to the adjacent bracket and the other end is attached to thebottom of the door 10 oftb' thelloftoiii' deer roller The door 10 iscomposed of five plain plywood panels 21, 22, 23, 24 and-25. Thesepanels overlap the inner races of the deer jainhs 11' and the bottompanel 21 abuts thenenr; i'zwhile the tap pan l overlaps the li'ntel 13when the door'is' in closed position. when the door is incipenedpositioh', the top panel will he at the rear erfd's ofth'ehorizontal track's 14b adjacent the hanger 20 while the bottom panel 21will be at or above the lint'el13.

The door panels are hingedl'y connected by continuous hing'es26 whichsimultaneously serve as seals between mnuntings. As bes't'i-llusti'ated' iii Figures 2 ands, each hinge 26 is composed of a malemember 27 and a female member 28 extending across the entire width ofeach panel to terinnnnte' flush with the side edges ofthe panels; Eachpanel has" a downwardly ihclin'edbotto'nt edge 29 a hook on the bottomedge thereof. The strip" lies'flatagainstthe'inner face of each aneladjacent the bottom edge 29 thereof and is'secured toth'epanel' atintervals along" its length by screws 311 Thestrip'projectsbeyond thebottom edge 29 to provide an abutment face 32' for the top edge of thenext adjacent panel. The space between the edges 29 and- 3'0 is therebysealed By the strip when the doors are in closed p'osition' as shown inFigure 2 since theprojecting face 32 will receive the top portion of thepanel 24*therea'gainst while the'ma'in body' of the strip is securelypressed against the inner face of the bottom edge portion" of the panelby the screws 31. The flat portion of the strip including the partattached to the top' panel and the depending face part 32 need only beabout 1" wide.

. The hook-like bottom end of the strip 27' includes a rounded bottomedge 33 and an upwardly inclined leg 34. The leg is inclined at an angleof about from the bottom edge of the strip and the total inward extentofthe'hook can be less than /2".

The female hinge part 28 is composed of a metal strip bent to have avertical webportion 3 5,a horizontal beam portion 36 at right angles tothe web portion extending from the bottom of the web portion and a Vportion 37 at the top of'the web portion. The web'pon tion is securedflatwis'e against the inner face of each plywood panel just below thetop edge thereof by means of" screws 38- at s'p'ace'd" intervals alongthe length ofthe strip. The horizontal beam portion 36 extends" inwardlyfrom the inner face of the panela distance which is greater than theheight of the web. The end of this beam is bent downwardly into aninverted C shape and provides a rounded inner edge 36a with an' inturnedflat lip or bottom leg 36b. A recess 39 is-thereby provided which openstoward the inner face of the door panel.

The v perti' n- 37 at the top of the web 35 has a rounded base 37a withan upwardly and inwardly in clined bottom leg 37b and an upward andoutwardly inclined top leg 37c. The top leg 370 is shorter than the leg}37b so as to be spaced inwardly from the inner face of theydo'or panel.The legs 37b and- 370 are preferably inclined at: an angle of about 30from a plane bisecting: the center of the rounded base 37a.

The male and female parts of the hinge can be separately attachedto'respective bottom and-top portions of the panels and can then bereadily rocked into interlocked relation as illustrated in Figure 3. Inoperation, the panels are never articulated beyond the angle illustratedin Figure 3 so that-the hinges will remain joined. However, it isevident from Figure 3 that further tilting of the panel 25 couldresultin unlocking the hinge to separate thepan'els.

In operation of the hinge, the rounded bottom edge 33 of the hinge" part26' rocks on the inner face of the" upper edge of the door panel whilethe leg 34 rides along the leg 370 of the female hinge part 28 and thenrides into the rounded base 37a as shown in Figure 2.

It will be evident from Figures 1 and 2, that the hinges 26 serve toreinforce the panels against sagging even when they are in overheadhorizontal position.

As shown in' Figure 1, a female hinge part 28 is secured to the bottomedge of the bottom panel 21 and to the top edge of the top panel 25 forrig'idifying the ends of the door and for providing roller mountings atthe ends of the door. The complete hinges 26 each have the female hingemember 28 secured adjacent the top edges of the panels.-

Plugs 40 are inserted in the ends of each female hinge palt 28. Theseplugs are best shown in Figures 6 and 7 and are generally flat slabspreferably composed of extruded plastic such as- Bakelite or the like.Each plug has generally flat top and bottom faces" 4tl'a" which can beconvoluted as illustrated and'ha s"semi-cylindrical ends" 405 forfitting into the recess 39 provided by the eshaped end of the hinge part28. The plugs" have a length equal to or shorter than the length of aroller the beam ortion of the hinge. one rounded end 40b of the plugwillhe enn ly' eteined in a Bottom neeess- 39 while the other end will abutthe inner face of the adjacent door" panel. If desired, a mounting bolt4f can awndnhrough the plug and heani 36 to more firmly unite theplug'with' the" beam.

Each plug has three longitudinal holes 42, 43 and 44 thereth'rougli.These holes each have a diameter sized for snuglvreceivi'ng the axle 45'of a roller 46' which rides in a track 14 for supporting the door fromthe track. The rollers and axles are ot conventional construction with'the teller preferably" being freely rotatable around the outer'end ofthe axle; One end portion of the plug 40' also contains ahalf-hole 47'having a width equivalent to one-half the diameter of theholes 42, 43and 44. Thus, the holes" 42, 43 and 44 are eceentrically arrangedrelative to the rounded ends 4012" of the plug and reverse positioningof the lug in the beanr will provide centers for the roller axles 45which are spaced from the inner face of the d'o'orp'a'riels' in"increments equivalent to onehalf the shaft diameter.

The shafts 45 are selectively seated in the plug holes and the plugs"are selectively positioned in the ends of the hinge beams' so that therollers will carry the door 10 to have a tight fit against the doorjanths' 11 when the door is in closed position and to space the doorinwardly from the door jambs to'prevent rubbing of the panels on thedoor jambs as the dooris opened. For this" arangemeh't', therefore, thebottom door rollers will be positioned closer to the door panels" thanthe succeedin'g rollers'as illustrated in Figure 2.

The'cables IT are preferably attached to the axles of the rollers atthe" bottom" of the door panel 21. The Springs 19 are thereby eiree'tiveto pull the pulleys 18 for" drawing. the cable 17 over the pulleys'.16to counterbalance the weight of the door.

A conventional door'locking' arrangement 48, shown in Figure 1, can beprovided to lock the door in closed position. This lock includes" a pairof bars or rods 49 slidable through brackets 50 at the end edges of themiddle panel 23' to extend into keepers on the door jambs 11 orintoslots in the tracks.

The' iniier" ends of the bars are pivotally attached to a" toggle plate51 operated by a handle 52 to shift the bars ltlinto and out of theirkeepers.

From the above description it will be evident that this invention nowprovides an inexpensive overhead garage door or the like where the doorpanels need not have rails or stiles to provide strength and wherecontinuous hinges serv a quadruple function of articulately connectingthe panels, sealing the joints between the panels, providing reinforcingbeams for the panels, and providing roller mountings for the door.

It will, therefore, be understood that variations and modifications maybe effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts ofthis invention.

We claim as our invention:

1. In an upward acting door construction, a roller mounting whichcomprises a plug having a plurality of longitudinal holes sized forreceiving roller shafts, said holes being eccentrically related to theends of the plug whereby reverse mounting of the plug will shift thehole centers to increase the permissible number of positions for therollers, and said plugs being insertable into the ends of door beams toconnect the door rollers directly with the beams.

2. A roller mounting for doors or the like which comprises a moldedplastic plug having a plurality of longitudinal holes therethrough sizedfor receiving a roller shaft, said holes being arranged in side-by-siderelation and being eccentrically spaced from the opposite ends of theplug whereby reverse positioning of the plug in a carrier will shift thecenters of the holes to increase the available roller shaft positions.

3. A door mounting which comprises a beam member adapted to be securedto the inner face of a door, said ibeam member having open ends, rollermounting plugs in said open ends of the beam member, each of said plugshaving a plurality of holes therethrough in side-by-side relation, andsaid holes being eccentrically arranged relative to the ends of the plugwhereby reverse mounting of the plug in the beam will shift the centersof the holes to increase the available positions for mounting a roller.

4. A door assembly which comprises a plurality of elongated door panelsadapted to be hingedly joined at adjacent edges for articulate movement,a pair of metal strips extending substantially the width of the door andhaving interlocking hinge portions cooperatively joined to attach thedoor panels in rockable relation, one of said strips having an elongatedsubstantially rigid beam portion separate from the hinge portion andextending the length of the strip and projecting inwardly from the doorpanel at right angles thereto whereby the full length of the panel issupported, said beam portion curved inwardly at its free edge to form arounded flange extending substantially the width of the door and beamplugs held within the rounded flange at each end of the beam and clampedby the flange, and door rollers connected to the plugs to support thedoor on tracks.

5. A door hinge which comprises a pair of elongated metal strips havingsubstantially the width of the door for attachment to door sections ofan overhead door and having continuous hook portions along mating edgesthereof extending the full length of the strips, said hook portionsjoining the strips in rockable relation, a sepa rate beam portion alongone of the strips remote from the hook portion extending substantiallythe full length of the strip and formed integrally with one of thestrips and projecting inwardly at substantially right angles to the doorwhereby the strength of the beam is transmitted to the metal strips toprevent sagging of door sections on which the strips are fastened andthe strip to which the beam portion is attached is held rigid fornon-binding coaction with the other strip, and a roller carrying meansfor attaching to the door sections for carrying them on a track.

6. In a multi-section upward acting door construction having tracks forsupporting the door sections, the improvement of a first and a seconddoor panel having surfaces in substantially the same plane, a firstcontinuous hinge section attached to the surface of the first panel atthe edge of the first door panel, a second continuous hinge sectionattached to the surface of the second panel at the edge of the seconddoor panel adjoining the first panel, said hinge sections joined to eachother to connect the door panels in articulate relationship, said firsthinge section formed with a face substantially in the plane of thesurface of the first door panel surface and extending past the edge ofthe second door panel engaging the second door panel surface along thelength of the panel to form a panel holding abutment therefore, saidsecond hinge section spaced from the edge of the second panel to permitengagement by the first hinge section, and means attached to the doorand carrying rollers for supporting the door panels from tracks.

7. A multi-section upward acting door assembly which comprises aplurality of panels having inner planar faces, a male hinge part havinga substantially flat elongated strip portion secured to the inner faceof a first door panel and projecting beyond the edge of the panel in theplane of the panel face and engaging the inner face of a second paneladjacent the first panel to form an abutment face for the second panelto thereby seal the joint between the panels, said strip having acontinuous hook portion on the bottom edge thereof, a female hinge parthaving an elongated substantially fiat strip portion secured on theinner face of said second door panel adjacent said hook portion, acontinuous elongated V-shaped portion on one side of the flat portion ofthe female part receiving the hook portion therein whereby the parts arejoined in hinged relation and said first door panel is restrained in onedirection by said hook portion engaging said V-shaped portion and in theopposite direction by the flat portion of the male hinge part engagingthe surface of the second door panel, and means carrying rollersattached to the door assembly for supporting the door on tracks.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,888,162 Eklund Nov. 15, 1932 1,989,511 Ginder Jan. 29, 1935 2,019,379Anderson Oct. 29, 1935 2,070,557 Bartel Feb. 16, 1937 2,484,609 ClarkOct. 11, 1949 2,525,309 Norberg Oct. 10, 1950 2,658,233 Kimmel Nov. 10,1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 266,312 Italy June 26, 1929

